CHECKING IN WITH . . . OLYMPIC SPORTS.

Runyan moving up to 5,000

Hers was among the great triumphs of the 2000 Olympic Games, yet Marla Runyan has been remembered more for her association with another athlete's disappointment.

"People say, `Oh you ran in the Olympics. What happened to Suzy?"' Runyan said with a laugh.

Runyan was the first legally blind athlete to represent the United States in the Olympics, and she wound up an impressive eighth against her sighted rivals in the 1,500 meters.

At the finish, however, Runyan was less exultant than concerned about the health of her favored teammate, Suzy Hamilton, who had collapsed, gotten up, then collapsed again after crossing the line.

Runyan and Hamilton will be competing this weekend at the USA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore. Hamilton remains in the metric mile, while Runyan moves up to the 5,000 meters.

The nationals are the selection meet for August's world championships, with the top three finishers making the U.S. world meet team, provided each meets qualifying standards.

"I wanted to concentrate on the 5,000 last year but I had an injury to the IT [ilio-tibial] band (in the her leg)," Runyan said Tuesday. "It was easier to grit your teeth and get through a 1,500 than a 5,000."

Runyan ran only one 5,000 a year ago, but it was fourth fastest among U.S. women.

Her limited vision, 20/300 in one eye and 20/400 in the other, is the result of macular degeneration. Her inspiring story will become an as-told-to book, "No Finish Line," to be published this fall.

Skate switch: Another reigning figure skating world champion has made a dramatic pre-Olympic change. Canadian pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier have left their Quebec training base and coach, Richard Gauthier, to work with Jan Ullmark in Edmonton. Ullmark coached Sale with a previous pairs partner several years ago. Singles world champion Michelle Kwan recently announced she had ended an eight-year professional relationship with choreographer Lori Nichol.